The greatest things of the last 30 years? What did Northampton people choose?

Published:11:04Thursday 01 October 2015

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Heineken Cup success for Saints and playoff triumph for the Cobblers are some of Northampton’s greatest things of the past 30 years according to a survey.

The list also includes online shopping, WiFi, Google, Super Mario Brothers, wheelie suitcases, Harry Potter, Becks, flat screen TV’s, text messaging and email which were considered to be some of the greatest things from the past three decades according to people in Northampton.

The research was conducted by the budget hotel brand Travelodge which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and surveyed 3,000 British adults to seek their views on the greatest things of the past 30 years.

Findings revealed that technology dominates, with the World Wide Web, smartphones, iPod, online shopping, Google and text messaging, email and flat screen TV’s named as among the top ten greatest things from the past 30 years.

The fortunes of the town’s football and rugby union teams make two appearances in the list, with the 2000 Heineken Cup win for Saints coming in at 13th and the Cobblers 1997 playoff victory being voted 18th.

Super Mario Brothers (17), the smoking ban (26), Harry Potter (32), the 2012 Olympics (30) and William and Kate’s wedding (39) have also been named by locals as among the greatest things.

Low cost supermarkets (23), airlines (28) and hotels (33) are all in the top 50, demonstrating that we have become a nation of value conscious shoppers.

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “The last 30 years has seen a huge shift in the way we live our lives with technology in particular changing many things.

“The internet has certainly accelerated the growth of budget travel and made going away a key part of our modern lifestyle. The ease of being able to book online, but also researching where you are visiting and staying has made travelling a much smoother experience than it might have been before the 1980s.”

Detailed below is the listing for the top 50 greatest things of the past 30 years as voted by people in Northampton: